# Oophagy

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Not to be confused with [Oophaga](/source/Oophaga).

**Oophagy** (/oʊˈɒfədʒi/ oh-OFF-ə-jee) or **ovophagy**, literally "egg eating", is the practice of [embryos](/source/Embryos) feeding on eggs produced by the [ovary](/source/Ovary) while still inside the mother's [uterus](/source/Uterus).[1] The word oophagy is formed from the [classical Greek](/source/Classical_Greek) ᾠόν (*ōion*, "egg") and classical Greek φᾱγεῖν (*phāgein*, "to eat"). In contrast, [adelphophagy](/source/Cannibalism_(zoology)#Intrauterine_cannibalism) is the cannibalism of a multi-celled embryo.[1]

Oophagy is thought to occur in all [sharks](/source/Shark) in the order [Lamniformes](/source/Lamniformes) and has been recorded in the [bigeye thresher](/source/Bigeye_thresher) (*Alopias superciliosus*), the [pelagic thresher](/source/Pelagic_thresher) (*A. pelagicus*), the [shortfin mako](/source/Shortfin_mako) (*Isurus oxyrinchus*) and the [porbeagle](/source/Porbeagle_shark) (*Lamna nasus*) among others.[1] It also occurs in the [tawny nurse shark](/source/Tawny_nurse_shark) (*Nebrius ferrugineus*), and in the family [Pseudotriakidae](/source/Pseudotriakidae).

This practice may lead to larger embryos or prepare the embryo for a predatory lifestyle.[2]

There are variations in the extent of oophagy among the different shark species. The [grey nurse shark](/source/Grey_nurse_shark) (*Carcharias taurus*) practices intrauterine cannibalism, the first developed embryo consuming both additional eggs and any other developing embryos. [Slender smooth-hounds](/source/Slender_smooth-hound) (*Gollum attenuatus*), form egg capsules which contain 30-80 ova, within which only one ovum develops; the remaining ova are ingested and their yolks stored in its external yolk sac. The embryo then proceeds to develop normally, without ingesting further eggs.[1]

Oophagy is used as a synonym of the [egg predation](/source/Egg_predation) practised by some snakes and other animals.

Oophagy is used to describe the destruction of non-queen eggs in nests of [eusocial insects](/source/Eusocial_insect), especially the [social wasps](/source/Social_wasp), bees, and ants. This is seen in the wasp species *[Polistes biglumis](/source/Polistes)* and *[Polistes humilis](/source/Polistes_humilis)*.[3] Oophagy has been observed in the ant *[Leptothorax acervorum](/source/Leptothorax_acervorum)*[4] and the wasp *[Parachartergus fraternus](/source/Parachartergus_fraternus)*, where oophagy is practiced to increase energy circulation and provide more dietary protein.[5] The social wasp *[Polistes fuscatus](/source/Polistes_fuscatus)* use oophagy as a method to establish a [dominance hierarchy](/source/Dominance_hierarchy); dominant females eat the eggs of subordinate females such that they no longer produce eggs, possibly due to the unnecessary expenditure of energy and resources.[6] This behavior has also been observed in some bee species. Such bee species include *[Xylocopa sulcatipes](/source/Xylocopa_sulcatipes)[7]* and *[Bombus ruderatus](/source/Large_garden_bumblebee)*, where queen bees will eat larvae deposited by workers or eject them from the nest in order to maintain dominance over the colony.[8]

## See also

- [Siblicide](/source/Siblicide)

## References

1. Christina L. Conrath. ["Elasmobranch Fisheries Management Techniques Chapter 7"](http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/organizations/ssg/EFMT/7.pdf). Retrieved 3 August 2006.

1. Wourms, J. P. (1981) *Viviparity: The maternal-fetal relationship in fishes*. Am. Zool. 21:473-515.

1. Ito, Yosiaki (June 25, 1986). ["Spring Behaviour of an Australian Paper Wasp, Polistes humilis synoecus : Colony Founding by Haplometrosis and Utilization of Old Nests"](http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110003502326/). *昆蟲*. **54** (2): 191–202. Retrieved October 9, 2014.

1. Andrew F. G. Bourke (1991). "Queen behaviour, reproduction and egg cannibalism in multiple-queen colonies of the ant *Leptothorax acervorum*". *Animal Behaviour*. **42** (2): 295–310. [doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(05)80561-5](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(05)80561-5). [S2CID 53168799](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:53168799)

1. Mateus, Sidnei, Fernando Barbosa Noll, and Ronaldo Zucchi. "Caste Flexibility and Variation According to the Colony Cycle in the Swarm-founding Wasp, Parachartergus Fraternus (Gribodo) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Epiponini)." *Journal of the Kansas* Entomological Society *77.4 (2004): 470-83. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.*

1. West-Eberhard, M. J. 1969 "The social biology of polistine wasps". Mis . Publ. Zool. Univ. Michigan 140, 1-101

1. Keasar, Tamar (2010). "Large carpenter bees as agricultural pollinators". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology.

1. Pomeroy, Nelson (1979-08-01). "Brood Bionomics of Bombus Ruderatus in New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Apidae)". *The Canadian Entomologist*. **111** (8): 865–874. [doi:10.4039/Ent111865-8](https://doi.org/10.4039/Ent111865-8)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Oophagy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oophagy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oophagy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.